More Caution and Skepticism About Federal Mortgage “Investigation”

Angry Bear Blog

Jan. 26, 2012, 10:44 AM

Yves Smith continues to follow the progress of investigations in More Caution and Skepticism About Federal Mortgage "Investigation" While a large number of "liberal" groups, ranging from the official Democratic party outlets (the Center for American Progress) to ones that sometimes cross swords with the Administration (MoveOn, the Working Families Party) praised the Tuesday evening announcement of mortgage "investigations" with Schneiderman co-chairing the effort, others who have been watching the mortgage legal fight closely were far more ambivalent about the creation of a new unit in an initiative…which has done pretty much nothing since its creation in 2009 (boldface mine): Attorney General Eric Holder, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairwoman Mary Schapiro today announced that President Barack Obama has established by Executive Order an interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to strengthen efforts to combat financial crime. The Department of Justice will lead the task force and the Department of Treasury, HUD and the SEC will serve on the steering committee. The task force's leadership, along with representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities and inspectors general, will work with state and local partners to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, address discrimination in the lending and financial markets and recover proceeds for victims.… The Times identified the two red flags. First, why are the settlement talks still proceeding? This is ridiculous if the plan is to do investigations. The fact that they have not been halted calls this exercise into question. Second, if this is supposed to be a heavyweight investigation, why hasn't Obama set up an independent prosecutor, a role much more likely to attract the sort of kick-ass litigator that the Times correctly thinks is necessary for the job?